Difference between Mi Box and Mi Box S?

by graesen

I understand the S is newer, but is it worth upgrading? I got the Mi Box (older) for Christmas as that's all Amazon sells. Not sure if it's worth the hassle of returning and picking up the newer model (which is about the same price or a few $ cheaper). From what I can tell, the SoC might be newer but other specs are the same?

Edit:

For anyone that needs to see specs side-by-side:

What I can see, both are completely identical per the specs. Same SoC, same GPu, Same wifi, etc. The only difference besides the remote and shape of the box is the older version uses bluetooth 4.0 and the newer one uses 4.2.

The only other question is whether the older one will get updated like the newer one. Considering they're the same hardware, I don't see why not but that doesn't mean anything in the real world.

simiwood

The newer one will get updates for longer in your position I would upgrade because with the exception of the return hassle(if you live near a kohls its easy) you will possibly save some money and be future proofed

Andriusdude

I think the new one doesn't have IR port

BiggussDikkuss

The Mi Box S - which runs AMLogic's Oreo v8.1 no longer supports Kodi HD audio passthrough.

Kodi HD audio passthrough still works on the 2016 Mi Box with Oreo 8.0

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You can try and buy into the "Placebo" effect that everything seems smoother on the "S"

I mean its the same AMLogic SoC Chipset.

Plug in a USB3 > Gigabit Ethernet adapter and do a blind test on someone with the same remote and they would not be able to tell the difference between the two if both devices are running reliably.

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I've been told both devices will get OS upgraded going forward. Don't buy into that unsupported BS either.

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Saving $$$ and then upgrade to a NVIDIA Shield would be a far better idea, especially now that colorspace switching has finally been implemented for SDR / HDR users with upcoming FW 7.2.2 on that device.

umairmalik2410

I just got my MiBox S a couple of days ago - seems to be a lot smoother (8.1.0 vs 8.0.0) - the WiFi seems more stable so far (to early to be conclusive). Generally my first impressions are that the software is much better on the S as compared to Oreo on the original MiBox.

Sponplat

The new one also has better wifi/bt and a new remote.

Get the new one.

Bodycount9

Wifi is a different version on the S model. Also the controller has the Netflix and Live buttons. Other than those two things, nothing else changed between models.